Tool for reshaping automobile panels



Ott.` ls, 1949. v H, FVERGUSQN 2,485,489

TOOL vFOR RESHAPING AUTOMOBILE PANELS Filed sept. '7, 1945 G--ls Patented Oct. 18, 1949 uuu? En.,

oLMassachusets This invention relates to a tool for reshaping: tlespane'lsicfautumnbiletladiesimremmvinggdents thenemom, more pantimrlarly hyra serieszof locale izettf pushmgsoutl: .operations tati clcsieiyin-spaced:` pnintstbyf :Iraans:Y ofrfwhsi'cirsthei metal'iof;the-,disey plamrtporbiomzis; :gradually r-freturrredxiapproxinmivelynturits migu'nahcontounr: Theeindi-virlial operationsmmefordinarilysiprying ones: 'l?h"ee-,-tocl.v herein discldsedianptherstoolsidevisedlbyyme for: eilentihgcsnch'operationsri:termi ifpiclsimg ,tcclsk -Mmyimzentibn eWill'cbe-awellimderstcodfhy frefenenctthe follawinggdescription ofatheillustna-a tives-` embcdiinent thereofsshowrr-rbyi `Wayi fof exAv amplia -firr-ther accomminyinsxedrawing, A whereiml is'ia[perspectiva-view oie? amautomobil-ef donn witlir parts broken.awayvgandxillustratingia; characteristic applications-ofctheiftocl;

Fig. 2 is a detailed section of the sameepnra larger? scale illustratirigglewtheitoclvislintmdneed intovtheiinteriomof the-:dummy Rigi B isiaiplan andFigeAi-sideeleyation rothei taillis.'

Figs-:16a 'handsfare diagcammatic:,J/1e1\ils=,;1=-A neatA topscaleoriin .relative px;oportionailliistrating.suc..-rn cessive 'stageseeethepickingmrncesswperfnrmed.i

In .reshanilmgvfthe paneles ofic-ausomeiiilefloadesJ which, haverfbeen injuriedain collision-si .theemaiorrdenominations maytbefebraughttbackttoetheiri proximate original positionwbygnseaoiiwpushing; toolsfcir'suitazble designzcoiweniently powered by a hydraulic jack. Other dents, if easily accessible from both siem:maynbevkhammered into their proper contour/thy use of a hammerand suitable dblly blocks. ln modern automobile.A practice many parts are not so accessiltle`liecause covered over c-byfithe.interioraconstructioh through whiclnavenues of access aremcst restricted Frequently,y relatively small dentaoccur along maroil-thefpanels to which access is mcstfdiiimilt- Evien-.when not offunctional importance,

such dentalare often particularlyfsunsightlywde tractinggf-rom appearance :andzfrnm thenresale rvalueefihle'car.

Lhave found that by the-iuseiofwsuitable toels, of which that disclosed in the present application is an example-,esuclr'dentsf'may be quickly and satisfactorily reformedfbyfa series in-prying, astionsfvonathe interior or convexgsurfacerof the dent performed at closely spaced points by means of a rigid, pointed tool formed to permit access from a relatively remote point either through an existing available opening or through an opening of restricted size formed for the purpose and work?" Whilekmuch oi'the reshaping; as directed-i byitheslmllicritheioperatmziwill bmpressingz-back: of-lfthepwnel torfitsoriginasl contour; infgemerzrleh smaller? reversedfbrendseim the-eonetturemfsxsmallz hollowzdomesswillib@formed representing, lgatti@ 1 ernin'cgsoff'the'.stretchedsmetal intoismallerc-rugosisf tieswor `.Simms-ities to'spemritiitfrtcrdiesimgeneral albngritstori'g-inal corrtnumpf smaller area: i. Chan-s aoter-'istiba yl'therpanelewh'en;sozroughlyrefcrmed: wiilllshbvmorrath'etexteniorrxmncn'iexcrescencewon pimples-ii'atttheipointsmhereimressure was ape@ pliedaathczintexion; whiclrrshoultlmct befso: hggtr that thirzzintenim hollowsiextendioutwaedlyrlpasiz the contour line of the panel. 'Iheserxmaywbef offibgmlngi-or .grndngstw-.providce a snwcthlyifcnntmmedmnter vsurfacezwhicinwmayf-,ba reflhis'hedid 'Il-heirepaiiimscmeiinstanceamay bei effectedf:byfzrepzeated'ifapplmation-itot: tliesefstepstf sibnazlt venisimzi'litude, aacontoured'zfpanel vim whiclnithermisf anfzinwardfdentfde Figc '7- shears:e thedentibrnught backiapproximatelylgtotheorig-g inail monteur. ibynpryingicoperationsionf,'-thex-sidei whchisslwerftaimthe efigiure', 'thewworkcleavnga the :rebentirparti'initemupted smalenffreyerse bendingsrre;:vvhereinftheemetatA has .beenastrainlec-l irntvhezzopposite directionsanditin :pant pressed: up mesurait/:manner :as .*torlshcwsrsmallf excrescerices4 at theiexteriom: We may considersthatfapart offthef eimessiareassocmnetal asmseenzin Eig. :G-.hastbeent redistributedzimaseries:ofsmallerfsinuositiesapet prnximatingnthenshcrtemsimple:scuryaturencfi .the origimalicontcms .'Eigiffslinwstheouter surfaces: orthesesexcrm e..dresswcmtof-theacriginab oontoiirxtheehollowsfhsffmrmed tltereloyieti'/rt'ihefunex densileifof ithectigmezewhchirepresentsrthef inea teriolc suriace of? the panel' 'vv-hielt:is?aou'i'f` ofi sight; beinggstilltpresentc.

Accharacteristic?application", of f t the:- t'oolr, fhere shnwn isftoefectarpickingyoperationfvby afprying: actiomeffectedfin afzplanerremote Aiirorrrthe: place ofi accessato theywcnkri rIlhus, v:refer-ririgcto Figc 11 Whiclrmilllbe moiiey'fully; describedi-lateie, the toclis. thereslmwrraas introduced; iflirouglfiI antopeningfim the bottom header of anlfautompliilevdocrrtocpv erste` cimvpcrticnmfrtheoutem pamelnearfthe belt line, the prying action being exerted in a plane transverse to the door (one which would be horizontal or thereabouts with the door in its normal position of use).

portion of the shank being curved outwardly at l2 l along a gentle curve which terminates in a sharply deilected portion M at the extremity of which is the blunt point i6 located at the extremity of the convex side of the curve and formed by rounding off the end of the tool on the concave side. The curve may be termed arcuate since it has no point of innexion or cusp. The tip portion of the tool may be flattened at opposite sides as shown at l1 for purposes which will appear.

The point I6, which is the extreme exposed end of the working portion of the tool, I have here referred to as a blunt point. That is, it is not needle sharp but nevertheless is adapted to operate on the panel on a substantially single point and its form is to be distinguished from a broad face or peen or from a chisel-shaped edge. The proximal end of the shank is bent outwardly at I8 and then returned past the axis of the' shank I to provide a cross-grip or T handle 20 which may be of the original hexagon shape as illustrated, spaced from the end of the shank to provide for its encirclement by a grasping hand. This hand grip is located in a plane perpendicular to the plane in which the ofi-set pointed end of the tool lies.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, suppose we were called upon to take out a dent in the outer panel of a door near the belt line. It is permissible to punch a hole through the bottom header of the door, as illustrated in Fig. 2, through which the tool may be inserted.` Such a hole may be welded up later if desired. If, however, We attempted to insert through such a hole a straight tool and operate it in a vertical plane (referring to the normal position of the door), then in the case of a wieldable tool of reasonable length and handines-s the lever arm through which the resistance of the work acted would be several times as long as that through which the force was applied and the work could not be well performed. In the case of the present tool the tip end may on account of its form be readily threaded through a hole of restricted size and the point I6 advanced to the location of the dent near the belt line. The straight portion of the shank I0 may nd a bearing at some remote interior point conveniently near the location of the work, as, for instance, the oil-set portions 22 of the inner panel of the door seen in Fig. 1. Its shank I0 may be rotated about its axis on this bearing by means of the crank arm provided by the handle 20. The distal end portion of the tool is raised from a more or less horizontal position and the point I6 pressed up against the inner side of the dent with an outwardly and in part laterally exerted prying action to pick up the surface in the manner already described.

A pipe extension may be slipped over the han- 4 cile to increase the force if desired. In general the handle shown substantially centrally located across the end of the shaft and of a length to accommodate the hand provides adequate power, and the work may be easily controlled by the judgment of the operator as guided by the direct ieel of the work. v

To facilitate the control of the tool and to indicate to the workman the position of the point I6, which in use will ordinarily be hidden from him by intervening portions of the structure of ythe automobile, the end of the grip 20 on the side thereof which faces in the same direction as the point I 6 may be formed with a recess 24 (best shown in Fig. 5) the wall of which inclines inwardly of the stock and :outwardly toward the butt end of the handle 20 to provide a shallow,

inwardly facing shoulder 26, the construction as a whole forming a seat for the ball of the thumb when the stock is grasped by the fingers of the hand.

I have previously referred to the flattening I1 of the working end of the tool. This facilitates introduction of the point from the side into narrow spaces where, for example, surfaces may have been crushed together substantially into contact.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specic forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, as is in fact clear in several matters from the description itself. Reference is to be had to the appended claim to indicate those principles of the invention exemplied by the particular embodiment described and which I desire to secure by Letters Patent.

I claim:

A tool for picking up dents in sheet metal panels by repeated prying actions thereon at closely spaced points comprising a lever wieldable in one hand and of a section rigid under manually applied stress and comprising a long straight shank extending toward the distal end of the tool without increase of or abrupt changes in dimension and which merges smoothly into an arcuate distal portion deflected laterally thereon and which distal portion terminates in a blunt point, the proximal portion of the shank having a crossbar handle transverse to the plane in which the distal portion is deflected.

WILLIAM H. FERGUSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 108,141 Houseman et al. Oct. 11, 1870 355,754 Beck Jan. 11, 1887 412,479 Davis Oct. 8, 1889 1,300,924 Bush Apr. 15, 1919 1,385,948 Norlund July 26, 1921 1,829,804 Loomis Nov. 3, 1931 1,883,684 Garrett Oct. 18, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 391 Austria Oct. 29, 1899 

